In the past, data providers of a first domain have maintained a high degree of separation from data providers of a second domain. Consider two illustrative examples: the “cable domain” and the “wireless domain.” Services in the “cable domain” are services provided by an entity who principally owns or controls a cable TV (CATV) infrastructure. Illustrative services include television programming (including satellite, on-demand etc.), a form of high-speed Internet access, and a variety of other services. Providers in the “wireless domain” principally own or operate a large-scale wireless-communications network. Illustrative services include mobile-phone communications, messaging (text, MMS etc.), other forms of Internet access, and more. Historically, there has been no need to consider resource sharing between those in the wireless domain and those in the cable domain because the respective services were sufficiently distinct, and respective endpoints took on very different forms. For example, a cable box of the 1980s bore little in common with a cell phone of that time frame. But times are changing.
Today's and future smart phones, powerful PDAs, and other hybrid electronic devices will be able to do things that past dedicated devices could not. For instance, a mobile-phone presents a version of television on its small display as long as the service is being provided by the same carrier that provides voice service. Similarly, a cable company's infrastructure can be used by a cable company to offer telephone service, (e.g., via VoIP and a phone adapter) but again, as long as the cable company uses its resources to all the services to work.
The current state of the art could be improved by providing a framework in the form of one or more network-to-network interfaces that would allow the services of a first carrier or in a first domain to be able to be used along with those of a second carrier or entity in a second domain.